Davie Kerr wrote to us on 14th November to say that it was 50 years to the day that 6 young lads boarded a BOAC Boeing 707 at Heathrow Airport en route for Bermuda to join the Police. The 6 were Gerry Ardis, ex-RUC; Davie Fraser, ex-Lanarkshire; Davie Kerr, ex-Dundee City; Barrie Mancell, ex-South Wales; George Rushe, ex-Met; and Malky Smith, ex-Glasgow City.
Davie says, “Not one of us initially planned to do more than one 3-year contract, and they're all still there except me. Sadly Davie Fraser and George Rushe are in cemeteries, but they're still there, in body if not in spirit..... Aye, it's been an eventful half-century!”
Unfortunately, we don’t have any photos of their arrival on Island or of their Familiarisation Course because recruit photos were usually taken only of the Basic Training Courses. However, we’ve scoured the Police Register at Prospect and come up with warrant card photos from their personal files as shown below.
We asked Davie to provide some additional information about the guys he joined with and here is his reply.
"Can’t add too much really, except that I still have my old warrant card signed by CD in 1991! You may remember that several years after that, the CoP at the time (I forget which one it was) decreed that everyone would have new warrant cards all signed by him, but nobody thought to collect the old ones, as a result of which I handed in the more recent one when I retired and kept the old one, which to be honest had a far better picture in it. I call it my "Get Out Of Jail Free" card!
Editors note - The photo above was used for Davie second warrant card some 10 years after his arrival. For more information - much more - you can read all about his life story and reminisences in our article featured in our Then and Now section at http://expobermuda.com/index.php/tan/16-dkerr. This articles contains 5 "episodes" and Davie have promises there will be more to come!
Here are Davie's recruits from 50 years ago.
David "Bones" Fraser
Davie "Bones" Fraser - sadly shot himself in June '69, for reasons which (as far as I know) have never been satisfactorily explained. (“Bones” served in Central Division and Traffic during his 2 ½ years.)
A Bones story has just come to mind. Remember the Great Mess Boycott of Feb '67? There was an enquiry into that which was held at the old Hotel School in Prospect, and Bones turned out to be one of the star witnesses. Toni Bachetti was accused of (among other things) billing the Police for certain items, actually buying vastly inferior items, and pocketing the difference (as did a certain PC from Somerset a few years later, but that's by the bye), and among the items he was billing for was a cut of meat called "silverside". Bones stood up and said to the enquiry board, "I was a time-served butcher before I joined the Police, and I can tell you for a fact that that's not silverside: it's .....", and he ID'd it as an entirely different and much lower quality cut of meat.
On that subject, the worst meal I have ever had in my life was Christmas dinner '66 in the Prospect Mess. Even I know that you cook frozen brussels sprouts by boiling them: this twat put them in trays, covered them with tinfoil, put them in the oven, and BAKED the bloody things, and they tasted absolutely FOUL. You may recall that I used to have a bit of a reputation for being able to eat anything that was put in front of me: the rest of the lads were paying me 3d apiece for every one I could eat, and I only managed four, they were so bad!
Editors note - Although our Police mum, Mrs “B” first started working in the kitchen at Prospect in 1964, this incident occurred at a time when Rudy Bachetti was operating the kitchen – NOT Mrs “B”!
Barrie Mancell - One good story about Barrie come to mind. You may recall that Top Square was the place to teach non-bikers how to ride their motorbikes? Well, I was the first of our crew to buy a bike, and Gerry was the only one of our crew who'd ridden before (although I did have a moped in Scotland for a while), so he taught the rest of us to ride my bike. He and I were the first two of our crew to pass our test (although it wasn't that hard: it was a PISSING west day, and the examiner looked at us both and said "Can you ride bikes?" "Yes" was the reply. "OK, pass!"), closely followed by Malky and Bones, then it was the turn of George and Barrie.
The evening before their tests, Barrie was still a bit wobbly: Gerry called over to him "Barrie, it's just like riding a pedal cycle, but you don't have to pedal!", and out of the evening gloom came this lilting Welsh accent, "I can't ride a pedal cycle, boyo!" Quick cancellation of his test, some intensive training, and he got through the following week!
But wait: here comes Episode 2! In Jan '69 Barrie and I were both selected to attend an Advanced Driving course, which in those days included, I think, it was 3 days on motorcycles. Barrie and I were paired off, and put under Jenks' wing. We were doing OK (at least, I thought we were!) until the last morning, when we were at the entrance to Tucker's Town, and Jenks said, "Right, fast run to John Smith's Bay. Tuck in behind me and go where I go."
And off we went, Jenks leading, me behind him and Barrie tail-end Charlie. We got to John Smith's Bay; no Barrie. After about 5 minutes waiting, Jenks said, Well, I suppose we better go and look for him: you go back along South Shore, I'll go Harrington Sound/Paynter's Road, and we'll meet back here." So off we went, and I met Barrie puttering along at 15mph in second gear just coming over the Smith's/Hamilton boundary!
Somehow we both passed, but the kicker was that I was then destined to spend most of my Traffic time in the Ops Room while HE went to MCPS! I've never been able to work that one out!
Malcolm "Malcy" Smith
Malcy Smith - I can't really say much about Malky's tenure as Force Carpenter as I never worked with him (his three apprentices that I recall were Bob "Fuzzy Wuzz" Allan [whom I met at Cyril Plant's funeral for the first time since he left Bermuda], John Kenyon, and Alan Gorbutt), I do know, though, that every time I was due to go home on leave I'd stop by Malky's "office" beforehand and stock up on cedarwood shavings, which were apparently in great demand as moth-repellent!
When I brought Jean to Bermuda for her first visit two years ago, she popped into the Supermart on Front Street to do a bit of shopping while I waited outside. Malky Smith happened to come by heading for the Supermart himself, and I described Jean to him and said, "If you find her, say Hi." Jean came out about 10 minutes later, and said, "I think I've just been chatted up by a strange man!", and Malky came out a few seconds later and he and I were cracking ourselves laughing! So did Jean, once I explained and she saw the funny side!”
George Rushe - George was a lovely bloke; he'd do anything to help you; and, if you wanted to discuss obscure points of law, George was The Man, but he should never have been allowed out unsupervised!
My first experience of that was when I was in Ops one day and he was out on a 350 Triumph (which is scary enough in itself, George let loose on a 350 Triumph!); I got this plaintive call on Channel 2, saying that he'd run out of gas! Fortunately I was able to tell him where the reserve tank switch was, and he was able to operate it and get back to Ops OK, but that set the tone: George was the sort of person who could be walking along Front Street at 0500 on a pissing wet mid-February Sunday morning, and a full-scale riot could break out behind him and he wouldn't notice!
I remember moving him from barracks to Dave and Arlene Woodcock's house on, I think, St Michael's Road in Paget, to recuperate from something or other (it may have been the time he got stabbed). Somehow we managed to get both of us, two full suitcases, and a stereo set, onto my Honda 90, with George sitting back on my carrier with a suitcase in either hand, leaning as far forward as he could with the stereo in between us!
I remember George's wedding: July '73, I think. It just so happened my parents were out visiting at the time, and staying with me on Dunscombe Road (which is where they first met (my) Claire, whom I eventually married 14 years later!), and George very kindly invited them to attend as well. I don't recall much about the actual wedding (apart from the fact that it was very successful!), but I do remember turning up at Christ Church Warwick in full kilt regalia, on my motorcycle, with a big box of flowers on my lap!
As far as I personally am concerned, though, the pinnacle of George's career was his epic defence of me during the Story of the Saga of the Rubber-Soled Shoes, which I'm quite convinced blotted my copybook of any chance of promotion for the rest of my service: I don't know if I ever sent you a copy of that, but I'm happy to if you'd like one.
Editor’s note - The Saga of the Rubber-Soled Show is indeed an epic story involving Davie who had been charged with the disciplinary offence of wearing “non-uniform” shoes. George was his defence counsel and the case was heard by then Supt Syke Smith who found Davie “not guilty”. We have the story in print but so far have declined to publish it for reasons I cannot publish!!!! Will re-consider!